My Dad’s a golfer. Well, my Dad golfs. Well, he has clubs and I think he took some lessons once. Whether that makes him a golfer or not doesn’t change the fact that he is my Dad, always has been and always will be. He protected me when I was bullied, he cheered me on when I hacked through Basin Street Blues in high school stage band, and he put together my Barbie townhouse. For all of you with a Dad like mine, treat him to these sports-themed drinks. For next Christmas, you just might get something cool, like an Easy Bake Oven.
The official date for Father’s Day varies by country, starting as early in the year as February 23 in Russia (named ‘Defender of the Fatherland Day’). So if you are from Russia, Andorra, Honduras, or Germany (among many other countries) the timing is obviously wrong, but hey, my Dad lives in Canada so June 19th to me is Father’s Day. Priorities, you know :).
Alley-Oop 
2 oz silver tequila
1/2 oz blue curaçao
splash tonic water
Shake the tequila and curaçao with ice and strain into a chilled martini glass. Add the tonic water (to taste) and garnish with a lemon wedge if desired.
Comments: Historically, pink is for girls and blue is for boys and as Dads are boys, this should be considered an appropriate drink. It may be pretty, but this definitely qualifies as a non-girly ‘manly’ tequila drink.
Tasting Notes: The sweetness of the blue curacao tempers the tequila but the gist of the tequila still remains; the tonic water doesn’t seem to add too much value (perhaps add a bit more next time???)
Hole-in-one 
1 ¾ oz scotch whiskey
3/4 oz vermouth
1/4 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 dash Peychaud’s bitters
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a cocktail glass.
Comments: According to my guy, if a Rusty Nail would be one of your go-to drinks if not for the Drambuie ‘syrupy’ factor, you will enjoy this. I love my scotch but have yet to find a scotch-based cocktail that floats my boat.
Tasting Notes: very smooth; no bitter aftertaste
Italian Surfer 
1 oz coconut rum
1 oz amaretto
4 oz pineapple juice
splash cranberry juice
Shake all ingredients over ice in a cocktail shaker. Strain and serve in a cocktail glass over ice.
Comments: When I first read through this recipe I was a bit leery about the amount of amaretto mixed with the pineapple juice. I was however, very pleasantly surprised! Coconut and pineapple go hand in hand as always, but the amaretto adds something exotic to the drink. Definitely one to try.
Tasting Notes: dark yellow shade; not overly sweet; fantastic almond aroma
Kickboxer’s KO 
2 oz light rum
1/2 oz triple sec
1 tsp grenadine
1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into a glass. Top with a slice of pineapple and a lemon wedge.
Comments: It might be hard to convince you that a drink that looks like this is manly enough for Dad, but trust me, it is. Obviously I added a strawberry garnish instead of the lemon wedge or pineapple (a sin somewhere, I am sure) but we just picked up the first strawberries of the season and lemme tell ya, it soooo worked!!!
Tasting Notes: the little bit of grenadine counteracts the alcohol flavoring from the rum; very tasty, a bit too sweet to want more than one